supporting tiriti-based curriculum delivery in mainstream early ...

ecently, Colbung, Glover, Rau and Ritchie (2007) noted a similar lack of depth
with non-indigenous teachers implementing bicultural curriculum. Ritchie and Rau
(2008) also noted the same phenomena in their research. Their research was
funded by the Ministry of Education who still perceived Tiriti-based curriculum as
important. Frequently, The Playcentre Journal (which is published three times a
year for their parent-led early childhood centres) includes articles on Tiriti-based
curriculum. The 2010 autumn publication (Playcentre Federation, 2010), for
example, contained four articles which incorporated Tiriti-based curriculum, as
well as three reviews of three bicultural picture books. The winter publication
contained three articles including reports from 19 Playcentres of how they
celebrated Mātāriki, the Māori New Year. With regard to this thesis, it can be
argued, therefore, that the six years taken to collect data enabled me to sample
these challenges across an extended time-span. Moreover, the issues explored have
remained current.
Figure 3.1 Overview of Data Collection.
Importantly, in the case of this thesis, the time-span serendipitously
promoted a sustained period of reflection about the validity of engaging with action
85